Combining his trademark pounding rock music with energetic movement for well regimented phalanxes of dancers, Untouchable touches on the themes of identity and nationhood, with more than a nod to the current refugee crisis.
American choreographer Twyla Tharp is one of the big - and we mean big! - names of contemporary dance. She has worked across a bewildering range of styles, from Broadway through cutting-edge contemporary dance and classical ballet.
Her piece, The Illustrated ‘Farewell,’ set to Haydn’s ‘Farewell’ Symphony, is her first work for the Royal Ballet in more than 20 years, and expands on her 1973 piece, As Time Goes By.
Arthur Pita is familiar with individual Royal Ballet dancers, for whom he’s already created work, namely the memorable Metamorphosis starring Royal Ballet Principal Edward Watson and presented at the Linbury Studio.
However, this is Pita’s first work for Covent Garden’s main stage. Entitled The Wind, it’s inspired by Dorothy Scarborough’s 1920 novel of the same name and the subsequent film starring Lilian Gish. It tells the story of a young woman in a remote community whose sanity unravels in the grip of the battering wind.
This unsettling theme provides the ideal material for Pita, who’s fascinated by the surreal and often grotesque extremes of human behaviour. The score is by Pita's regular collaborator, Frank Moon.
All in all, then, a fascinating mix and one which will further extend the already considerable range of the excellent Royal Ballet.
| What | Royal Ballet Untouchable Triple Bill, ROH |
| Where | Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Covent Garden (underground) |
| When |
06 Nov 17 – 17 Nov 17, 19:30 Dur.: 3 hours including two intervals |
| Price | £3-£50 |
| Website | Click here to book via the ROH website |